Gardens come on show this month and nowhere more importantly than Chelsea starting on 20th May. In your own garden this is the month to get flowers planted for display to family, friends and for your own summer enjoyment. Timing is the key to success as frosts are still possible until the end of May. So if you have planted tender bedding flowers such as geraniums, busy lizzie and petunias before that date you will need to watch the weather forecasts regularly and take the appropriate covering action if frosts are predicted. Soil temperatures will be well up and seeds will germinate quickly and so will the weeds, so keep the Weedol Gun! handy for effortless weeding without a hoe or fork.

THE GARDEN

If you buy your bedding plants from a nursery or garden centre they will need to spend a few days outside in a sheltered position before planting in garden soil or outdoor containers. This hardening-off process is a transition between the hot, humid atmosphere of the greenhouse and the varying temperatures of your garden. It also gives you a chance to cover them more easily if frosts are forecast.

It's time to sow seeds of half-hardy annuals including asters, stocks, lavatera and zinnia. Sow thinly after treating the area with a controlled release plant food such as Miracle-Gro Shake & Feed or Osmocote. At the same time feed perennial plants and shrubs. With Shake & Feed it couldn't be easier - the hand-held spreader ensures the slow release granules are scattered evenly - so no more smelly hands. There is no need to work the granules into the soil - so no more digging. And best of all your garden plants will benefit from a daily dose of balanced plant food for the next three months - so no more plant starvation, just strong beautiful growth.

Roses will be in good leaf and bud and need protecting from mildew and blackspot diseases. Spray the plants thoroughly with a rose care treatment that contains a systemic fungicide such as RoseClear 2, RoseClear 3 or RoseClear Gun!. Regular fortnightly treatments are the only way to avoid the early leaf fall caused by blackspot disease. RoseClear products will also see off the first of this year's greenfly that may be hiding on the leaves of roses.

Summer flowering bulbs, corms and tubers need to be planted now according to their individual requirements. These include gladioli, container grown lilies and the tubers of dahlias. Considering their exotic Mexican origins dahlias are really easy to grow. They have been hybridised since the first tubers arrived in Europe at the end of the 18th century, so the variety of colours and flower sizes is huge. Dahlias are very tolerant of neglect, but will produce an abundance of flowers if you provide them with plenty of food and water. They are hungry and thirsty customers so when planting out tubers or rooted cuttings of plants ensure the soil has been improved with plenty of Levington Soil Improver & Mulch and dressed with Miracle-Gro Controlled Release Plant Food. For maximum flower power or exhibition quality blooms feed the plants over the leaves and around the roots every fortnight with a couple of gallons of Miracle-Gro Soluble Plant Food.

Cut back spring flowering shrubs such as forsythia. If your particular specimen is shy of flowering then instead of cutting back all stems hard, simply take out some of the older branches completely. Give the plant a dose of rose food such as Miracle-Gro Rose Plus instead of high nitrogen manure that will encourage plenty of new long wands but little flower.

Protect all lush foliage and flowering plants such as hostas and delphiniums with SlugClear Mini pellets or water on the liquid concentrate called SlugClear that leaves no bait visible on the ground.

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Plants that are specially vulnerable to vine weevil attack include fuchsia, begonia, auricula, impatiens (busy lizzie) and tender geraniums. For peace of mind they should be grown in a protective compost that controls leaf and soil pests. The only one on the market is Levington Outdoor Container Compost with Insect Control.

ON THE PATIO

Pots, planters and hanging baskets take pride of place and visitors will be sure to notice if your display is not up to scratch. To ensure your plants get off to the best possible start they need the best compost. You can expect fresh Levington Potting Compost or Miracle-Gro Plant & Gro Compost to give great results as they both contain high levels of initial nutrients. In fact they have at least 40 per cent more nutrients than most standard Multipurpose composts. So you can expect plants to grow away more quickly and flower more profusely.

After about six weeks the plants will have used up all the available nutrients in the compost and supplementary feeding is necessary if the plants are to continue to grow and bloom throughout the summer. Because hanging baskets need to be watered almost daily, and sometimes twice a day in summer, traditional plant foods are soon washed away. The same problem occurs with patio pots as watering is a regular requirement.

Probably the best way to ensure your containers are fed every day for the complete growing season is to add Miracle-Gro Controlled Release Plant Food or Osmocote granules into the compost before you plant. If you don' t do this then you can simply push Miracle-Gro Controlled Release Plant Food Tablets below the surface of the compost at any time during the first six weeks. One application of a 6 month controlled release plant food will provide all the nutrients plants needs for the rest of the season. They will release more nutrients the higher the temperature and the greater the demand from growing plants. Controlled release plant foods feed as and when needed thereby ensuring top quality colour and blooms from beautiful summer flowers.

LAWNS

Mow the grass as often as you are able and start to reduce the cutting height of the mower to get to the ideal height for summer. If you cut the grass in summer to a minimum of 20 mm (3/4 of inch) and it is well fed, then the lawn will become thick and strong so that new weed seedlings don't get a chance to thrive.

If weeds are already a problem use a selective weedkiller to kill them off. If your lawn deserves a feed at the same time choose EverGreen Complete or Scotts Lawn Builder plus Weed Control. Treating the whole lawn with these mini granular products can be done in just a few minutes with a dedicated wheeled applicator spreader that can be bought at the garden centre at the same time. If you don't want to invest in a wheeled spreader you can buy 100 square metre size of EverGreen Complete comes with its own built-in hand-held spreader.

If your lawn doesn't need feeding, just weeding then use Verdone Extra - Britain's favourite selective lawn weedkiller. This new formulation of Verdone, launched just last year, is now more powerful than ever - you only need one application a year and it gives excellent control of the smaller-leaved weeds such as black meddick, lesser trefoil and common mouse-ear. And, as you can imagine, if it kills those difficult weeds it does a great job on white clover, daisy, dandelion and plantain.

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For maximum weed control apply granule or liquid lawn weedkillers halfway between mowings. Wait three or four days after mowing before application and leave a similar time after treatment before mowing again.

FRUIT AND VEGETABLES

Seed sowing time is here for a tasty crop of summer vegetables. At the beginning of the month sow asparagus peas and fancy peas for 'mangetout' and 'petit pois' in beds of rich soil that has had the benefit of plenty of organic matter. Every couple of weeks sow a short row of lettuce alternating loose-leaf variety such as Salad Bowl or Lollo Rossa followed by some butterhead varieties such as Tom Thumb or Avondefiance. Sow main crop carrots and finish planting all potatoes.

Wait until the middle of May to sow seeds of Runner beans and French beans. If you have already prepared your bed and dug in plenty of garden compost, kitchen waste or animal manure then you may want to sow the seeds directly where they are to crop. Otherwise sow in pots of Levington

Multipurpose compost and then prepare the bed by digging in Levington Soil Improver & Mulch or any available garden compost. At the end of the month sow seeds of marrow, swede and sweet corn where they are to crop.

The foliage of apples and pears can be attacked by caterpillars at this time of the year so keep a watch for signs. The green 'looper' caterpillar of the winter moth or the brownish mottled 'looper' caterpillar of the umber moth will be seen to eat leaves from the edges, leaving foliage in tatters. Spray with BugClear as soon as you see the caterpillar damage. The caterpillar of the tortrix moth has a different method of attack. This caterpillar will spin leaves together or attach a leaf to a fruit to provide a safe haven for feeding. If you see these spun leaf hiding place shaped like a funnel pick off as many as you can reach by hand and then spray the apple or pear tree with a drenching spray of BugClear.

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Feed vegetables and fruit for sturdy growth and subsequently better crops. In the seedling stages new plants respond well to weekly doses of Miracle-Gro Soluble Plant Food. The nutrients are quickly absorbed and encourage a strong root system to absorb even more nourishment.

IN THE GREENHOUSE AND CONSERVATORY

Ensure that shading is effective against bright sunshine that can otherwise scorch new tender leaves. Purpose-made blinds are expensive, but infinitely variable to make the most of all weathers. On the other hand white paint-on shading is effective and can be quickly removed with a duster if a dull period is experienced.

Try to keep the atmosphere cool with adequate ventilation and humid by damping down every morning and evening. This humid atmosphere will also help to discourage red spider mite. If these pests are seen, try to mist the underside of the leaves every evening. Following instructions on product labels, spray ornamental plants and listed fruit and vegetables with Polysect RTU or Nature's Answer Natural Pest Control.

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Keeping insect pests under control from an early stage will prevent populations getting out of hand. Spray tomatoes, peppers and aubergines with Polysect RTU or BugClear Gun! to control whitefly and red spider mite. It is always advisable to spray in the evening when evaporation is slower and scorch less of a problem.